SouthWalesWest MS speaks about the EM A scheme

THE Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) was introduced in 2004 and provided up to £30 a week for families earning below £20,800 a year. The EMA scheme was a welcome addition to support for post-16 learners, who sometimes struggled to continue education after GCSEs. EMA has supported hundreds of thousands of pupils since its introduction, including myself.

Whilst EMA and other similar schemes offer much needed support to young people in poverty who wish to continue their education, EMA has not evolved over time to best support these pupils. In real terms, the value of EMA has dropped.

The payment of £30 a week has not changed since its introduction in 2004. According to a report by the Bevan Foundation, if EMA were to retain the same value today as it did in 2004, the allowance would need to be increased to £45 a week. The report spoke to pupils receiving EMA and one common theme was that it was not enough to even cover transport to and from their college.

Moreover, as the income threshold has not changed in the same period, a family would need to be £4,000 poorer today than in 2011 to be eligible for the payment. The inflexibility of EMA has led to a significant drop in applicants, falling from over 30,000 in 2013/14 to roughly 20,000 in 2019/20. Children in poverty already face more challenges than more affluent peers, the EMA scheme plays a role levelling the playing field, but the system as it is currently set out is not benefitting all of those in need.

Having worked hard to secure universal free school meals for all primary school children in Wales as part of the Cooperation Agreement with the Welsh Government, we in Plaid Cymru want to ensure that children living in poverty have the best chance possible in school.

To ensure the EMA scheme is as valuable as it was in 2004, the value must be increased to £45 a week and the income threshold to be eligible for it must be increased to match inflation.